Adjustable support.



A. R. BARNETT.

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION TILBD NOV. 1, 1910.

Patented Sept. 19,1911.

A. R. BARNBTT.

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1, 1910. 1,003,865 Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CDLUMBIA FLANOGRAPN C0..WA5M|NGTON. n, c.

Umane staresv PATENT onirica.

ARTHUR R. IBARNETT, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR TO UNIVERSAL BED ANDHOSPITAL SUPPLY COMPANY; OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

Application levd November 1, 1910. Serial No. 590,231.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ARTHUR R. BARNETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adj ustableSupports, of which the following is a specitication.

The present invention comprises an adjustable support designedparticularly for use in hospitals and similar places, for application tobeds, and to facilitate the raising and lowering of the opposite endportions of the mattress of a bed, means being employed to hold eitherend of the mattress at a desired elevated adjustment or in the normalposition in which it is ordinarily used.

The invention is particularly advantageous in handlingsick patients in ah ospital, the home, or the like, whereby to 1ncrease the comfort of thepatient or place him in a position convenient for operations, ete.

For a full understanding of the present invention, reference is to behad to the following description and to the accompanying drawings, inwhichl Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a bed showing theinvention mounted thereon in cooperation with a spring and mattress;Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view partly in section and partly in sideelevation, showing one ofthe adjusting mechanisms and operating meanstherefor; Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken about on the line 3 3 ofFig. 2; Fig. 4 is a top plan view parts being broken away in places,andl illustrating the arrangement of the invention as shown in Fig. l;Fig. 5 is a horizontal fragmentary sectional view taken about on theline 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig, 6 isa detail fragmentary view of the cornerportion of one of the end sections of the support.

vThroughout the following detail description and on the several figuresof the drawings, similar parts are referred to by like referencecharacters.

In carrying out the invention, the same 1s constructed so that it ismost readily applicable to an ordinary bed embodying thev usual siderails A and legs B supporting the same.

The attachment comprises essentially a central section C and two endsections D,

the latter of the same construction exactly. ',lhc central sectionincludes spaced angle bars connected together at opposite end portionsby transverse rods l, suitably secured to downwardly projecting arms 2,the latter being integral with segments or ratchet members 3. One of thesegments or ratchet numbers 3 is secured to each end of each of thespaced bars of the section C, the segments having outwardly projectinglugs 4 overlapped by the bars of the central section and secured theretoby suitable fastenings 5.

Spaced bars of the central section C are of angle form, the outerflanges of said bars engagillg with the outer surfaces of the lugs 4.The segments 3 are housed by casings 6 of circular form, each casinghaving a lateral extension 7 provided with a longitudinal opening 8 inwhich is mounted a ratchet pawl 9. The casing (3 is secured to itsadjacent segment 3 by means of a pivot `member 10 passing through thecentral portion of the casing and entering an opening in the lug 4 ofthe segment, a pin ll connecting the` pivot member with the lug andextending transversely through said parts, preventing displacement ofthe pivot member. At its inner end, the pivot member 10 has a head 10',normally preventing separation of the segment 3 from the casing 6.

'lhe spaced bars of the central section C of the adjustable support areadapted to be positioned above the side rails A of the bed on which thesupport is placed, the lugs 4 of the several segments 3 under suchconditions resting directly on the rails A and being secured by means ofset screws l2 which are carried by auxiliary lugs 13 projectingoutwardly from the depending arms 2` of the segments, said lugs beingspaced from the larger superposed lug 4 of each segment so that thehorizontal portion of .the rail A is adapted to be received between thelugs 4 and 13, and the bars of the central section C clamped to the siderails by the screws 12. The pins l1 are prevented from displacement bybeing practically received between the horizontal portions of the barsof the central section C and similar portions of the rails A.

lVhile the central section C really comprises a frame composed of spacedbars and connecting rods l, the end sections D are of U-form, being alsopreferably made from angle bars. The sides of each end section D areattached at their inner extremities to the extensions 7 of the adjacentcasings 6, by the fastenings 14e. l

For the purposes of this description, the parts 3 and G will be calledadjusting mechanisms. At its outer end, each section D of the supporthas a transverse rock shaft 15 mounted in suitable bearings upon itssides, said rock shaft having cranks 16 at its opposite extremities andwhich are connected by rods 17 to the pawls 9 of the adjacent adjustingmechanisms. A short distance from its opposite ends, the rock shaft 15has rocker arms 18 applied thereto and extending downwardly therefrom,each rocker arm having a strap 19 connected to its lower end andextending outwardly and upwardly through a loop guide 19 on the outerend bar of the section D. `Grrips or hand-holds 20 are applied to theupper free ends of the straps 19 and it will be observed that in theactual operation of the invention these handholds 20 may besimultaneously grasped and when pulled upwardly, the rock shaft will betilted, pulling on the rods 17 and disengaging the pawls 9 from thesegments 3, continued pull permitting the section D to be raised orlowered into any desired position. rlhe end sections D of the supportare preferably made from a single angle bar notched and bent to providethe corner portions of the sect-ion as shown at 21 in Fig, 1.

On the adjustable support comprising this invention is adapted to beplaced a spring 22 having the end bars 23 resting directly upon theoutermost portions of the end sections D. The spring 22 is held in itsproper position relative to the adjustable support by means of loops 211of wire or the like, said loops being attached to the transverse rods 1of the central section C and extending upwardly therefrom into a properengagement with the material from which the body of the spring 22 may bemade. The connections 24 are advantageous in that they hold the spring22 in proper place relative to the adjustable support when the endsections of the latter are raised, slack or looseness in the springbeing prevented by the connections 24. Furthermore, the mattress 25 isprevented from shifting on the spring by means of the provision of loops26 attached to the under side of the mattress, extending downwardly intoengagement with the material of the spring 22, j

rThe end bars 23 of the spring 22 may be provided with handles 26 tofacilitate raising and lowering of the ends of the spring and mattresssimultaneously with similar movement of an end section D of the support.

From the foregoing, it will be observed, in reference tothe generalconstruction of this invention, that the adjustable support justdescribed comprises a central section or frame including side barsadapted to engage over, or overlap, the side rails of a bed, and endsections or frames adjustable with reference to the central frame andmovable above and below the horizontal plane of the side rails by reasonof the arrangement of said end sections or frame between said siderails. The above mounting of the central section affords a rigidsupporting means for the end sections as well as desirable adjustmentsof the adjustable support, especially when it is necessary that one endof the support be elevated above the side rails and the opposite endlowered so as to extend below the side rails of the bed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. 1n an adjustable support of the class described, the combination of amain section comprising spaced bars, adjusting mechanism carried bycorresponding ends of said bars, each adjusting mechanism comprising asegment rigidly attached to its adjacent bar, a casing receiving saidsegment and pivotally connected therewith, the casings of the adjustingmechanisms being` formed with lateral extensions, an end sectioncomprising sides and an end bar, means connecting the sides of the endsection with the extensions of the casings aforesaid, ratchet pawlsmounted on the casings and coacting with the segments adjacent theretoto hold the end section in a predetermined position with reference tothe main section, a rock shaft mounted on the end section and havingcrank arms projecting therefrom, means connecting the crank arms withthe ratchet pawls, rocker arms projecting from the rock shafts, andhand-holds operably connected with the rocker arms for actuating thelatter to impart movement to the ratchet pawls and simultaneously movethe end section into a desired position.

2. In an adjustable support of the class described, the combination `ofa main section composed of spaced bars, adjusting mechanisms connectedwith corresponding ends of said bars, and each comprising a segmentrigid with respect to an adjacent bar, a cooperating ratchet memberpivotally connected with said segment, a ratchet pawl carried by saidratchet member, a member rigidly connecting the segments of theadjusting mechanisms, and thereby rigidly connecting the bars, an endsection comprising sides connected with the pivoted ratchet members formovement therewith, and means on the end section for disengaging thepawls from the segments comprising a rock shaft mounted at the outermostportion of the end section and having crank arms connected with thepawls, rocker arms projecting from said rock shaft, straps connectedwith the rocker arms and having loose connection with the end section,and grips carried by said straps for actuating the rocker shaft andsimultaneously manipulating the end section.

3. In an adjustable support of the class described, the combination of acentral section comprising spaced bars of angle form, a pair ofadjusting mechanisms at opposite corresponding ends of said spaced bars,each adjusting mechanism comprising a segment having an outwardlyextending lug arranged beneath and secured to an adjacent bar of thecentral section, auxiliary lugs proj ecting from the segment beneath andspaced from the first mentioned lug thereof, a supporting bed railhaving a portion thereof received between said lugs, set screws carriedby the auxiliary lugs of the segment and engaging the bed rail, aratchet casing inclosing the segment, a pivot member connecting saidcasing with the first mentioned lug of the segment, said ratchet casinghaving an offstanding extension and a pawl mounted in said extension,transverse rods connecting the pairs of ratchet mechanisms at oppositeends of the central section, bars, end sections, each end sectioncomprising sides attached to the oflstanding extensions of an adjacentpair of ratchet mechanisms, a rock shaft mounted on the outer end ofeach end section and having crank arms at opposite ends beneath thelsides of the end section, rods connecting said crank arms with thepawls of the adjacent ratchet mechanisms, rocker arms projectingdownwardly from the rock shaft at opposite ends, and straps connectingthe lower end with said rocker arms, guides carried by the end of eachend section and loosely receiving t-he straps therein, hand-holdsapplied to the free ends of the straps whereby to exert a pull thereonto operate the rock shaft.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR R. BARNETT.

Witnesses:

W. Y. CURTIS, A. R. MENDENHALL.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained.V for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

